Rice and Curry Feast

Greetings,

Last Friday myself and a couple friends went to a local family for dinner. We had 13 different dishes and each one was better than the next. Pineapple curry, Okra, sweet peppers, pumpkin, roti, two types of rice, and more. We put out a beautiful spread on the living room floor and all ate together.

I have met some wonderful people here and they are all very kind and generous. Attached are some more photos of that night. One picture is the entire family and then some of the food preperation. I went over to the house early and helped them chop veggies. All the food was cooked over an open flame in the house with cinnamon wood.....it gives a great flavor to the food. Three generations of women in the family prepared the meal. I arrived at 5:30 and they were already cooking. We didn't eat until like 9 PM. I have also taught the family how to play backgammon and dominos. It is so refreshing and educational to be connecting with people outside of the States.

People often refer to places like Sri Lanka as the "3rd World." I prefer to not use this term because I feel that it is a language convention that perpertuates a hierarchical structure. It is that mindset that has historically allowed people in the "1st world" to feel okay about how people and resources of the "3rd world" have been utilized and exploited. Instead I like to think about where I am living as the "real world." More than 2/3 of the global population lives in conditions similar to Sri Lanka or worse.

The days continue to pass here as do yoga and meditation. Some nights it is so easy to sit for an hour, while others drag on. The other night I woke up and had a tick sucking blood out of my neck....later that day I got a spider bite and my elbow swelled up for a day. Ah the tropics....such ecological diversity :)

The weather is definitely heating up here and getting more humid. I guess that it just cranks up for the next couple months and finally explodes into the monsoon season. Hope you are all well. Cheers, Jake